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Honduras: Fighting Malnutrition

Nestled in a remote northern Honduras valley, Santa Lucia and the surrounding area are home to 20,000 rural inhabitants. These families rely solely on their agrarian skills for a subsistent living.

According to UNICEF, over one-third of Honduran infants are malnourished due to this indigenous lifestyle. Four percent of Honduran children die before reaching five years of age, at a rate five times higher than that of U.S.

Shoulder to Shoulder, a non-profit organization based in Honduras, is combating youth malnourishment by providing lunch daily to 2,000 children. Their health clinics also provide 24-hour support for the indigenous people, offering preventative medicine, primary care and emergency support.

Multimedia producer Tracy Boyer documents Shoulder to Shoulder's work and how U.S. physicians, medical students and other volunteers are battling health and hunger issues in this rural region.

Four other hungry children watch while either sitting on the dirt floor of their one-room hut or swinging from a hammock. Chickens, dogs and rats roam around the cluttered room, scavenging for their next meal.

Deep in the mountains of southwestern Honduras, Maria Digna Ramos Mendoza spoon-feeds Plumpy’Doz, a peanut-based supplement, to her infant daughter.

Four other hungry children watch while either sitting on the dirt floor of their one-room hut or swinging from a hammock. Chickens, dogs and rats roam around the cluttered room, scavenging for their next meal.

Mendoza is part of a research study being conducted by professors and students at UNC, part of the University’s larger focus on international health.

Nestled in a remote northern Honduras valley, Santa Lucia and the surrounding area are home to 20,000 rural inhabitants. These families rely solely on their agrarian skills for a subsistent living. But according to UNICEF, over one-third of Honduran infants are malnourished due to their indigenous lifestyle.

Maria Digna Ramos Mendoza wishes for a pretty house and a large basin to store fresh water for her five children. But, when she wakes up, "there is nothing."

Mendoza lives in a one-room, mud hut with her children. Her husband left four years ago to work in the United States, where he met another woman. She said whenever they call him asking for money, he says that he is more sick and needs money sent to him instead of to them.

Student Fellow Tracy Boyer wins a first place Award of Excellence from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication for Honduras and the Hidden Hunger

The "Best of the Web" competition is an annual Website design contest for members of the Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication. There are categories for individual, group and creative entries. Judging will be done by Web design professionals and academics with a background in Web technology.

Students at Campus Consortium member schools were eligible to apply for reporting fellowships of up to $2,000 each and the opportunity to work with the Pulitzer Center staff on an international reporting project. Listed below are the inaugural winners for 2009 and previews of their projects.

Nestled in a remote northern Honduras valley, Santa Lucia and the surrounding area are home to 20,000 rural inhabitants. These families rely solely on their agrarian skills for a subsistent living.
According to UNICEF, over one-third of Honduran infants are malnourished due to this indigenous lifestyle. Four percent of Honduran children die before reaching five years of age, at a rate five times higher than that of U.S.